The New York Giants have a number of enticing options at No. 5 in the 2026 NFL Draft. Could their best one be to engineer a small trade down to pick up additional draft capital?
Depending who is available, running back Jeremiyah Love, safety Caleb Downs, wide receiver Carnell Tate, linebacker Sonny Styles, and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa could all be the pick at No. 5. You can also make arguments for players like cornerbacks Mansoor Delane and Jermod McCoy, guard Vega Ioane, offensive lineman Spencer Fano, and maybe a wide receiver like Makai Lemon just a little farther down from No. 5.
With all of those options, trying to find a trade partner seems like a good idea. That won’t be easy. The teams immediately behind the Giants are also looking at those same players, and might also find multiple choices acceptable.
Let’s try to help general manager Joe Schoen and head coach John Harbaugh find a few trades that might work.
The perfect trade
At least, in my opinion it’s perfect. For the Giants. I don’t know if it’s one the Kansas City Chiefs would see a need to entertain. If fact, I highly doubt it. I am here, though, to write about scenarios that would help the Giants. So, I’m doing it.
Giants get: Picks 9 and 29
Kansas City Chiefs get: Pick No. 5
Maybe the Chiefs are happy sitting at No. 9 and selecting whoever they see as the best cornerback, wide receiver, edge defender or offensive tackle on the board at the time.
Maybe an edge defender like Reuben Bain of Miami or David Bailey of Texas Tech is there, and that convinces them to move up. Or, a wide receiver like Carnell Tate to energize their passing attack.
In any case, the Giants could capitalize if the Chiefs are antsy.
Take your pick from the list of players above. There would be a really good player available who would immediately step into New York’s starting lineup. Maybe not a gold jacket player, but you never know.
Let’s take a look at the players who might be available to the Giants at those spots.
I used the Pro Football Focus simulator to force a 9 and 29 trade. As it happened, the Chiefs selected Bailey at No. 5.
More importantly for our discussion, of course, is what the Giants did with the ninth and 29th picks.
No. 9 — Caleb Downs
Downs, Mauigoa, Ione, McCoy, and Fano were all still on the board. In my view, Downs at No. 9 PLUS getting another first-round pick would be a home run.
No. 29 — Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
I thought about guards Emmanuel Pregnon and Chase Bisontis here, but I would cross my fingers and hope one of those two was still available at No. 37.
Wide receiver KC Concepcion, and cornerbacks Colton Hood and Chris Johnson are also available here.
I opt for Boston, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound vacuum cleaner who would be a great option across from Malik Nabers
An alternative with the Chiefs
Giants get: Picks 9 and 40
Chiefs get: Pick 5
If the Chiefs won’t give up the 29th pick, the trade charts also give the Giants a value received advantage if they were to get picks 9 and 40 from the Chiefs.
If I am GM Joe Schoen and Chiefs GM Brett Veach won’t give me pick No. 29, I’d say something like “oh well, I guess we can accept 9 and 40.”
Honestly, I would ask for 9 and 29 but take 9 and 40 without complaint.
Here is what I end up with in this deal, which the PFF simulator actually accepted without my needing to force the deal:
No. 9 — Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
This time, Mauigoa, Lemon, Ioane, McCoy and Fano are still on the board. Downs is off the board. I am taking a player who should walk in the Giants’ door and win a starting job.
Honestly, I keep thinking about Harbaugh talking about new-fangled positional value and saying that teams have always known quarterback and cornerback were important.
No. 37 — Emmanuel Pregnon, G, Oregon
This is an original New York pick. I wouldn’t doubt it if the Giants like Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis, a New Jersey kid who is three years younger, more than Pregnon. But, Pregnon it is.
No. 40 — Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
Miller, 6-foot-4, 321 pounds, is No. 43 on Dane Brugler’s big board, and Brugler calls him “a rock solid run defender.”
That’s all I need to know.
The simulators love this trade
Over and over when I run mock drafts using the Pro Football and Sports Network simulator or the NFL Mock Draft Database simulator, I receive this trade offer:
Giants get: Picks 8 and 42
Saints get: Pick 5
So, let’s put it on the list. The Pro Football Focus simulator accepted the deal, meaning PFF’s algorhythm thinks it is realistic enough.
I ended up with Downs at No. 8, Pregnon at No. 37, and Chris Johnson, a cornerback out of San Diego State many analysts think will be off the board before this, at No. 42.
Down to No. 10
Realistically, this is about as far as I would go, and as far as I hope Schoen and Harbaugh would go.
Giants get: Picks 10 and 41
Cincinnati Bengals get: Pick 5
The PFF simulator liked this trade, and accepted it.
Delane is here, and I would probably take him. For the sake of presenting a different scenario, though, I am going to select Penn State guard Vega Ioane at No. 10.
Honestly, I think Harbaugh and the Giants would be very happy to make this pick at No. 10
In this iteration, Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion falls to No. 37 and I grab him. With the 41st pick from Cincinnati, I will take Johnson. Maybe you don’t think Johnson should still be on the board, but he is. So, he’s mine.
I don’t want to do this, but …
If you want to play a bit of the long game, and add a high pick in what is supposed to be a good 2027 draft, this deal might be for you.
Giants get: Picks 14, 45 and a 2027 Round 2 pick
Baltimore Ravens get: Pick 5
The PFF simulator took this trade. I have not asked my Ravens contacts, but I think Baltimore would take this trade in a heartbeat.
The bummer for me is that both Mauigoa and Ioane are off the board when my turn at No. 14 arrives. I happen to be a big McCoy fan, though, and I am kind of giddy that he is still here at No. 14. Brugler says McCoy “should be an early starter” if his knee checks out. Of course I am not drafting him if there are medical concerns. I will take Bisontis at No. 37 to switch things up. At No. 45, I will take massive Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter. I’m not sure he is a perfect fit with Dexter Lawrence, but were Lawrence to be traded Hunter would be a nice way to begin reconstructing the defensive line.
Final thought
After going through this exercise, I can look at all four of these trades and feel like the Giants would make out well executing any of them. It won’t be easy, though, to find someone willing to move up.
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